


The art of eye contact

by xXxDeViLiNwHiTexXx



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Artist Byun Baekhyun, Boyfriends, ChanBaek - Freeform, M/M, Soulmates, baeksoo - Freeform, krissoo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:26:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24195868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXxDeViLiNwHiTexXx/pseuds/xXxDeViLiNwHiTexXx
Summary: They say your eyes are like an incomplete canvas. Something unpredictable yet beautifully fascinating. And when your eyes meet the right pair, you’ll see art happening.Baekhyun thought that his part of the art was beyond recover, and Chanyeol just didn’t want to think him that way. With splotches of greys from past, they try to paint each other in the colour of present.
Relationships: Boyfriend/Boyfriend, Soulmates - Relationship, best friend - Relationship
Kudos: 1





	1. The other pair

**Author's Note:**

> *sigh*  
> I wrote this one with a lots of hard work. Thank you for reading the first chapter. Please read the next chapters too when I publish them. And leave a kudos/comment if you feel like it.

Baekhyun suddenly feels his heart stop for a moment. The paint smudge on the mirror of his bathroom’s glass looked like as if it was his eyes that had that color. He shakes his head as he wipes the mirror with the stained wet rag, dirtying the reflective glass even more. 

Times like this makes Baekhyun feel like an idiot. An idiot who’s heart still skips a beat thinking about the other half of his eyes.

_His soulmate._

But he has stopped caring at some point he feels. The desperation, want, hurt he had in his heart have now morphed into a longing, a feeling that often makes its way out of his chest as a heavy sigh. Or as times when he looks at himself through the mirror and wonders how he would look with both of his eyes looking the same. 

He has a weird combination of color. Right one is a copper like golden, the other is a striking contrast of ashy blue. 

Coming out of the bathroom, Baekhyun stares at the portrait he just finished for a few seconds. It is a portrait of a woman, a very beautiful woman who’s both eyes is tinkling in a warm green. The client, her soul mate has especially requested him to make this drawing for their “finding the other pair” anniversary. Youngsters these days!

Baekhyun shakes his head and strides out from his working studio.

Yifan looks at the doorway of the bar and his lips break into a small smile seeing the person entering.

“Tenshi-sama has decided to finally pay a visit to my shrine! I can already see customers flooding in!” A trip to Japan for Yifan has turned out to be very weird. Baekhyun shakes his head and takes a seat in one of the front stools. 

“I am an old Tenshi who have no blessing left for you or your broken shrine.” The artist replies and the bar owner let out a hearty laugh. 

“What do you want to drink?”Yifan asks.

“Give me that warm sake I had last time.” Baekhyun answers without thinking for a moment.

“The sweet one?” The owner asks.

“The sweet one.” 

Yifan puts a bottle and a glass in front of the smaller and the small bells attached to the front door jingles. The shop welcomes a group of seven. The owner gives Baekhyun a knowing look before approaching the group.

Baekhyun looks at the corner of the table top. A picture of Yifan and his soul mate was resting. If not paying a lot of attention, no one can even spot the photo frame there. Kyungsoo had eyes so big and expressive! Still his smile had his eyes almost shut with two beautiful crescent. Yifan had his arms wrapped around the smaller male from the back, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips. And Baekhyun knows underneath the lids of a smiling Kyungsoo were eyes ashy blue, identical as Yifan. Also the same as his own left eye.

But he remembers how warm those eyes were despite having such a cold color. Maybe it is true all along. Your eyes reflect your heart. And Baekhyun knows that, the person in the picture has nothing but a heart full of love.

Now that Baekhyun finishes his first glass of sake, he remembers Yifan is not wearing his lenses and glasses today. 

“Tenshi-sama, since you are here today, please sing a song or two for the customers.” Yifan says at his ears and Baekhyun startles. 

Baekhyun wanted to say “What about your regular singer?” 

But now looking at that pair of ashy silver eyes of his friend, the artist refrains himself from doing so.

“Then you are not taking money for this bottle of sake tonight.” 

“What! Why!” Yifan asks just as a formality. 

“You are going to take money from the Tenshi-sama that blessed you with all those customers?” The once almost empty bar was now filled with people. A soft buzz of people talking was in the air.

Baekhyun takes his seat on the stool with guitar in hand, strumming a few cords Baekhyun brings attention of the people toward him. 

“I am a new singer for today, forgive me for my mistakes. I will start with my favorite song, please tell me if you have any preferences.” Baekhyun starts picking on the strings, slowly bringing the instrument to life.

“This is a song for my penguin.” 

Yifan’s hand stops for a moment. He should have known when Baekhyun was going to start with this song when he had asked him to sign for this night. His eyes linger on the photo frame for a few seconds before a customer calls out for him.

_What are you thinking of?_  
_I'm thinking of you_  
_My world is filled with you_  
_Can you remember? How we were so excited this time of year, babe!_

Nasty siren of the alarm clock blares throughout the empty penthouse. The sound seemed to be getting louder and louder as it bounced back and forth between those empty walls and space. Chanyeol angrily slams his palm over the clock, successfully shutting it down. Each morning he wonders why the hell he hasn’t gotten rid of this sick clock yet. It does another thing other than waking him up. Ruining his whole morning. 

He heads for the kitchen and quickly puts some fruits in almond milk and starts the mixer. Twisting the tap of kitchen sink, Chanyeol splashes water on his face. To any normal people living in a house like this would never do this. Washing his face in the kitchen sink instead of the fancy basin in the bathroom, that too, butt naked. But who was there to say anything to him anyway?

Pouring the drink in a jar Chanyeol quickly makes his way back to his bedroom. Taking a sip from the drink he pulls out his gym clothes, quickly putting them on his naked form. Chanyeol looks at the clock sitting at the bed side table, sees it reading the time thirty past six in the morning. After some moment a soft click of the door shutting resonated throughout the empty house. 

This time when Chanyeol left the house, the ugly clock read fifteen past eight in the morning. Now sitting in the driver’s seat of his car, Chanyeol’s eyes meet with his reflection. The colors still were different. He kind of felt stupid. Still checking on his eyes every morning, lest it might turn ashy silver. He looks into his reflection for one last time before fixing the mirror in place. The car engine ignites and runs towards its destination.

“Team manager Park, good morning.”Yeri greets from her desk. 

“Good morning.” Greeting back Chanyeol walks toward his office. Chanyeol halt for a moment at the sight of piles of files on his desk. Letting out a dejected sigh, the team manager makes his way the desk. This is going to be a long day.

“Manager Park, you should have come along with us to drink last night. The bar was so nice!” Jaehyun suddenly says during the lunch.

“Yeah, then I would have dumped the files in each of your tables because I could not review them for my hangover.” Chanyeol says calmly and the rest of the team burst into laughter.

“Oh you noticed, the bar owner’s eyes were ashy silver.” Sooyoung suddenly says and Chanyeol’s hand seems to halt for a moment. 

“I know right? I saw his soul mate’s photo on the countertop when I was paying last night.” The table falls into a sorry silence. As is everyone was grieving for the person who was no longer there in the world breathing in the same air as them. 

“You people should not be talking about such matters when each of you has your soul mate alive and with you.” Chanyeol says and gets up from his chair with the empty dishes.

“And don’t sit here chit chatting, lunch break ends in ten minutes.” Leaving, Chanyeol could hear his team mates groaning in frustration.

“You guys should watch your mouth around Manager Park.” Jaehyun suddenly says.

“Huh, talk for yourself, you started the topic of that bar.” Joohyun spits back.

“Okay okay! Please stop! Let’s hurry back. Manager Park already has given us a warning.” Yeri says as she gets up from her chair.

 _“Ashy silver, huh?”_ Chanyeol thinks to himself. There are so many pains one can go through. One can lose their soul mate and feel nothing. But then one might not ever find their soul mate and lose them. The team manager shook his head, throwing away all the bad thoughts away.

Afternoon at the management floor was awfully quite. The members kept glancing at the door of their manager’s room. He had not come out of his room ever since lunch break. 

Chanyeol couldn’t concentrate in his work. Outside of his office was way too quiet. He shouldn’t have talked like that during the lunch break. The clock was striking six in the evening. Feeling dejected Chanyeol decides to order pizza and fried chicken to lighten up the mood.

“Delivery for Mr. Park?”Everyone looks at the looks at the source of voice, confused at what their manager could have ordered. 

“Ah.. Yes. It’s me.” Chanyeol comes out of his office with his wallet in hand.

The others watch silently as Chanyeol pays for the delivery and puts the received goods in one of their desk.

“Manager Park, what are these for?” Jaehyun asks carefully, remembering the incident at the lunch time. Chanyeol laughs at the nervous tone of his subordinate. 

“You guys don’t have to be so tense about what you said at that time.” Chanyeol says, trying to ease the tension. 

“But manager Park! That was very insensitive of us.” Joohyun replies.

Chanyeol let out a hearty laugh. 

“Let’s not talk about that anymore. The foods will get cold.”

“Manager Park you are the best!” Sooyoung says with a piece of fried chicken in hand. Chanyeol replies with a wide smile. 

Chanyeol looks at the group of seven. The team he is manager of. All of them were in their mid 20’s. Young, loud and full of life.Chanyeol was much older than them. In his early 30's. It probably was three days ago he found few grey hairs in his black locks. 

The traffic was heavy. Chanyeol’s car was standing at the same spot for twenty minutes. He didn’t feel like going home. Should he visit his mother? Her Yoora was there too. He could use this opportunity to meet his niece. He missed that child. The next day, he could go to office in the second half. Perfect, Chanyeol thought so. He could make spicy rice cake and sausage dish for breakfast, along with some pork belly. And suddenly Chanyeol started feeling restless for the traffic to thin down.

“Baekhyun-ssi! I am so sorry for making you wait.” Baekhyun puts his coffee cup back in the table, smiles a bit when the person he has been waiting for.

“The traffic was horrible!” His client says.

“It’s okay Joon-ssi. I haven’t been waiting for long.” The latter takes a seat on the other chair.

“You should check the portrait once more.” Baekhyun says. Despite the client didn’t want it, Baekhyun took the frame out of the large paper wrap. The guy sitting across him looked at awe. Baekhyun stares at the identical pair of green eyes, the same one Baekhyun had painted in the portrait. 

“This is perfect Baekhyun-ssi!” The client exclaims, his eyes overflowing in an emotion Baekhyun has seen in so many eyes.

_Perfect?_

He wondered. If the drawing he made is reflecting the love the man now has tinkling in his eyes. Maybe not. Is it even possible? How can his hands draw something when he can’t feel that?

Baekhyun’s pocket felt heavy. It’s been a while since he has received so much money at once. Not like Baekhyun was complaining though. He earned more than enough to support himself. He sometimes imagined his life otherwise. If he had chosen the offer to study law, how different his life could have been. Maybe then he wouldn’t have had time to sit down and witness such beautiful expressions of human eyes. He had teaching class at a local art academy. He could have a good breakfast.

Baekhyun stood in the isle of sea vegetables, with a pack of seaweed in hand, thinking if he should buy some. He suddenly felt like having some. Maybe he could call Yifan to join him too. With a small smile on his face, he puts the pack of seaweed in his basket. Then thinking about what he should buy next, Baekhyun starts to wander around in the shop.

Chanyeol parks his car in the parking area of the closest Korean super shop he could find. Quickly getting out of his car he makes his way to the shop. 

“Meat section, meat section.” Chanyeol chanted in his head, as if he were to forget it otherwise. 

Upon reaching the meat section, Chanyeol noticed the shelves to be almost empty. It was past dinner time after all. And his heart felt dejected at the sight of empty stack of pork belly, and the guy standing beside him had the last pack in his hand. He looked confused. The male kept looking back and forth between a pack of beef and pork. Chanyeol thought he should ask the stranger if he would let him have the pork instead. 

“Excuse me sir.” Chanyeol calls out and the guy slowly twists his neck to look at him. 

Baekhyun couldn’t understand what kind of meat he should buy. Or if he should buy two of them at the same time. While he was contemplating in his mind, a voice suddenly called out to him. 

“Excuse me sir.” Twisting his neck sideways, Baekhyun looks at the guy who called out to him. The guy had two different eye colors, just like him. Funny with eyes that wide, those were the first this Baekhyun noticed. But his brain seemed to freeze and heart twist in a weird emotion when he looked at those eyes. His own eyes becoming wide, air getting stuck in his chest. 

_“This can’t be happening!”_ Baekhyun felt he couldn’t even think.

He sees the man in front of him look at him in shock. Once dark brown right eye fading into a way lighter shade, with hints of sky blue and silver surfacing. The man wasn’t even standing that close, how could Baekhyun see that? Maybe it’s because he has that exactly same colored iris on his very own left eye. 

Chanyeol’s speech stops midway, his heart twists in a painful way, but not quiet hurting him. His lungs for a moment stops to take the air in. An emotion so foreign that he couldn’t, decipher stirred in his chest. He witnessed as the eyes of the other man starts to change. The copper and golden shade turning into an entirely different shade. He kept looking at the guy straight into the eyes. Neither of them blinks for a minute straight. Neither of them realizes when their eyes fill with tears. 

“Gentlemen are you going to buy something? It’s time for me to close the shop.” Said the elderly man both of them saw sitting at the counter.

“We’re sorry.” Chanyeol says as he takes Baekhyun’s hand and pulls him along, taking both of them out of the shop.

Chanyeol dragged Baekhyun along the almost empty road and stopped at track when both of the reached an empty park.

Baekhyun was slightly out of breath. The man holding his wrist was also the same. The hold around his wrist came loose and the man turned his face to him. He was crying. Baekhyun wondered why a human being so beautiful was crying. But then, he was crying too. He didn’t know why. That foreign emotion in his chest was twisting his heart. 

When a baby is born, a loud cry means a good delivery. A kick start of its life. When you lose someone, crying means you are hurting. You might cry when you are too happy. Same event, with so many meanings.

But, why were they crying now? 

Fear? That the person standing right in front of him was not real?

Or is it a feeling of longing both of them have wanted to perish.

“Are you really here?” Came out at the same time from both sides.

It was Baekhyun who reached out to the other male. Finger tracing at the trail of tears. The pad of his finger glided smoothly over the skin. It felt real. He is real.

“Who are you?” The other male held on Baekhyun’s wrist gently. His voice shook with the wave of cries. But it was oddly firm.

“Please tell me….” Baekhyun doesn’t remember how long both of them shed tears in each other’s presence like this. Each time he tried to utter a single word, his vocal cords just wouldn’t listen. And it felt like an eternity later when Baekhyun could reply,

“I’m Byun Baekhyun.”

Both of them sat in the swing, neither of them talking or looking at each other, still sniffling from all that crying earlier. Who knew they were going to meet each other like this, after all these years they have waited for this moment? Fate sure has a strange way of working.

“Byun Baekhyun….” The other male mutters again. He has been doing that for a while now. And this time, Baekhyun looks at him.

“I am Byun Baekhyun.”

“Who are you?”

That night, on his way back, Baekhyun kept on chanting the name he was just offered.

Park Chanyeol.

“Park Chanyeol..”

“Chanyeol-ssi..”

“Chanyeol-ah..”

Baekhyun couldn’t stop, just like how he couldn’t stop crying back then. He shut the door of his apartment and took his phone out. There was the name he has been chanting all the way back home.

Park Chanyeol! And before he realizes it, Baekhyun already had memorized the number.

Chanyeol ended up going back to his own apartment. He needed to settle this whole ordeal with himself first. Putting his palm on the fogged bathroom mirror, Chanyeol wipes the white coverage. His eyes instantly meet with his own. He still can’t wrap his head around this incident. Both of his eyes now were ashy blue. But his heart wouldn’t stop beating erratically. 

“Byun Baekhyun…” He mutters again. The name slipped past his tongue so smoothly as if it was meant for him to call out to this name. Then wasn’t he waiting this name his whole life? 

Back then, he didn’t want to let go of the man he met at the park. The beautiful person named Baekhyun. 

Who knew, if he was another fragment of his imagination? Chanyeol quickly turns on the camera of his phone. 

No.

His eyes weren’t the same they were at that morning. A wave of relief washed over him instantly. 

Slipping under his duvet, Chanyeol laid down a whole day’s worth fatigue. But sleep didn’t come. He is supposed to meet Baekhyun the next morning. And the mere thought of it made him feel nervous, make his nerve shake in excitement. As is it was his first date.But it was his first date. First date with his soul mate. 

And yeah, he was running late with the first “Date” with his soul mate. Chanyeol couldn’t sleep the whole night, and when he did, it was way too late.

Chanyeol’s hand was shaking when he reached out to the door handle of the coffee shop. The bell jingled gently and Chanyeol saw the man he saw last night looking at his way.

Baekhyun kept on glancing on his wrist watch. He was there for twenty minutes already. At this point he started to wonder what happed the night before was a dream. 

_“No. It can’t be.”_ Baekyun tried to reason himself. He once again looked at the dark screen of his phone, his ashy blue eyes shining in the dark screen.

“What if he already has a family? It’s not impossible.” True, as family of non soul mates weren’t uncommon. Baekhyun himself has dated people who weren’t his soul mate. His train of thought was cut with a text message. 

_**New message** _  
_Park Chanyeol: I will be a bit late, please wait for some moment._

And Baekhyun felt a wave of relief wash over him. It was almost another twenty minutes later when the bell of the doorway jingled, and the person Baekhyun has been waiting for so long walks through.

Chanyeol takes a seat and Baekhyun straightens himself more. 

“Hi…” The smaller starts first.

“Hi.. um.. I am so sorry for being so late!” Chanyeol replies frantically and Baekhyun smiles a bit.

“It’s fine.” But this was it. Neither of them knew what to talk next. Baekhyun kept on looking around him in an awkward manner. There were so many things he wants to ask this man!

“Should we go somewhere less crowded?” Chanyeol offers. Despite knowing it will be difficult for them to find a quiet place at a weekend. 

“Uh.. yeah.. let’s do that.”  
The pair walks through a quiet neighborhood, slightly chilly spring air ruffles the leaves softly.

“So..” Chanyeol looks at him.

“Um…”

“Do you…Have your own family?” Baekhyun sees Chanyeol’s eyes widen a bit and he felt like slapping his hands on his mouth. This is the first question he had to ask.

“Yeah, my parents live two hours from here, and my sister lives out of town.” 

“And I live here, alone.” Baekhyun nods his head stupidly. 

“Do you have your own family Baekhyun-ssi?” This time Baekhyun smiles.

“Yeah. Mom dad and my hyung.” They both fall into a comfortable silence. 

“Have you… Told anyone?” Chanyeol asks suddenly.

“No, no… Not yet…” Baekhyun pauses a bit before continuing.

“I just thought I should convince myself about it first. Because I’m sure my family is going to bomber me with floods of question I don’t know answers of.” And Chanyeol nods along. 

“So.. Where should we go next?” The taller of two asks.

“Sorry.. But I have a teaching class at the art academy in some time.” Baekhyun replies apologetically.

“You’re an art teacher?” Chanyeol asks, fascinated by the idea.

“I am an artist… I just teach the kids there.”

“I am a manager. At Laurex tech.” The taller one replies and Baekhyun nods on acknowledgement.

“When will your class start?” 

“It is scheduled at 3 pm.” It was 2.30 in the noon already.

“So… I guess this is it?” Chanyeol says with a hint of disappointment in his voice and Baekhyun smiles a bit.

“Sorry…But it’s getting late.” Baekhyun lifts his hand and waves at the man, and starts to walk away. 

Chanyeol felt his heart drop. What if he wouldn’t see Baekhyun again? He wanted to run to the man and ask him to let him walk to the art academy.

Baekhyun halts on his track and looks back, Chanyeol was still standing there. Turning around, Baekhyun smiles at the man softly.

“Chanyeol-ssi, let’s grab dinner together sometime. Yeah?” And the said man smiled back, recovering from his initial shock.


	2. I see me

It was Monday and Chanyeol suddenly felt he didn’t want to go to office today. How was he going to explain he found his soul mate over the weekend? He could just use his “Boss” authority to keep the team shut. But he didn’t think he could do that. His head was aching thinking about all of these. And for the day, Chanyeol decided to wear sunglasses to work.

“Good morning Manager Park….” The last part of Yeri’s greeting kind of faded away. 

“Manager Park, you’re wearing that inside the room.” Sooyoung says, and Chanyeol gulps.

“Ahh.. I caught an eye infection over the weekend. So..” 

“Ah.. eye infection?” Both Sooyoung and Yeri nod their head in acknowledgement. And before they could say anything more, Chanyeol rushed inside his office room. 

Dinner date came three days later.

_**New message:** Byun Baekhyun_   
_Chanyeol-ssi, do you have any plans for tonight?_

Chanyeol received the text at 5.30 pm. And he replied as soon as he finished reading the text.

_To: Byun Baekhyun  
No, nothing other than going home after office._

The reply came almost instantly.

_From: Byun Baekhyun  
Can we grab dinner today? My treat._

Chanyeol laughed a bit, but replied anyway.

_To: Byun Baekhyun  
Yeah, sounds good. _

The next text was the location of the place he was going to meet Baekhyun.

Baekhyun just barged into Yifan’s bar the day before, after his class ended at the art academy.

“Hey Baek, good thing you came on your own, I was going to call…” Yifan’s speech halts at before finishing and his jaw drops. There was Byun Baekhyun, standing right in front of him with both of his eyes being ashy blue.

“I met him.” The shorter male replies. His breathing ragged and eyes looking hazy. But Yifan keeps quiet, knowing the other male is going to open up sooner or later.

“Oh…Is that so?” Yifan says as he wipes down a glass and puts a drink in it for Baekhyun.

“Ah.. You have to sing today. Please.” Baekhyun says after a sip.

“The group coming over reserved the whole bar and especially requested a singer.” 

“So where’s your regular one?” Baekhyun asks

“Oh he called in sick. But I’m sure he’s somewhere else, earning some extra cash.” The bar owner shakes his head dismissively. 

“You should hire me as your singer then. I am becoming more and more frequent.” Yifan says nothing. He and Baekhyun have had the conversation countless times over the years, and he knows that Baekhyun will never be a singer here. 

Baekhyun looks at the end of counter. Yifan had not removed the photo frame he had put in few days ago. He smiled a bit. The bell of the bar’s doorway jingled and Baekhyun got off his seat with the glass of drink in hand. Time to get to work. 

Baekhyun waves at Chanyeol when he spotted the male coming in.

“I hope you like drinking soju.” Baekhyun jokes and the taller one smiles. 

“Can’t really be a Korean otherwise.” Chanyeol replies.

They shares small talk.

How was the day?

How was work?

Baekhyun just wanted to ease up before asking the things he has been meaning wanting to ask.

“Do you have anyone you love?” Chanyeol chokes on his food at this question. A fit of coughing makes the tall male hunch forward. Baekhyun quickly passes him a glass of water.

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol asks, his lungs still burning. 

“You know…Um.. Someone you love but now that I am here…”Baekhyun tries to put everything into a nice sentence, but fails.

“Baekhyun-ssi…If that was the case I would have asked you to stay away from me at the very beginning.” Baekhyun nods his head animatedly. 

“Ah.. I see..” Both of them eat their dinner in silence. 

“Do you have someone you love Baekhyun-ssi?” The said male looks the Chanyeol. The smaller male didn’t look the same he looked a few days ago on their first date. His ashy blue eyes looked, cold. His body posture stiff and shoulder tense. Baekhyun looked like he was in pain. 

“I wonder Chanyeol-ssi…” Their “dinner date” ended with an awkward note, with Chanyeol having hundreds of questions in mind. 

Some he loves, huh? Chanyeol felt like laughing at the question. How many times has it been that Chanyeol thought he was in love? He can’t help but slip deep into these thoughts.

“I’m sorry for being like this tonight…. I just had a rough time.” Baekhyun finally says, Chanyeol’s chain of thoughts breaks.

“You should call me then.” The shorter male looks at him, surprise evident in his eyes.

“You should call and talk to me.” Chanyeol says again. 

“I can..?” Baekhyun asks with a hint of disbelief in his voice. Laughing at the reaction, Chanyeol replies.

“Of course.”

_Chanyeol slammed the empty glass on the table. Sehun was smirking at his pathetic state._

_“Got dumped again?” Chanyeol glares at his friend._

_“None of your business.” He grumbles a reply._

_“Of course it is. You are my best friend after all.”_

_“She said she didn’t feel the pull anymore.” Chanyeol replies, his face red with the amount of alcohol he has put in his system._

_“Dude, you knew this was going to happen. She wasn’t your soul mate.”_

_“But I really thought she would! We had such a great chemistry!”_

_“Yeah, chemistry that led into explosion.” Sehun says getting up from his seat._

_“Come on, enough drinking for tonight. I’m dropping you at your home.” Sehun says as he drags the drunk male out of the bar._

_“How many times does this one make?” Chanyeol was asked after being in the car for a while._

_“I lost count.” He replies and Sehun sighs. His friend didn’t know what fling was and always ended up having deep emotional attachment with the people who were bound to leave him._

_“I am tired Sehun-ah…” The drunk male suddenly says._

_“All I wanted was to lean onto someone.” Chanyeol’s voice waivered. Neither of talked anymore._

_What Chanyeol didn’t say that, he was cheated on._

_“You could have just broken up with me! Why did you cheat?”  
Chanyeol remembers his own voice ringing in his ear._

_“Fucking grow up Chanyeol! I am not your ‘soul mate’ girlfriend.” The girl he had been dating for almost a year spats, collecting her clothes from the floor._

_“And why care so much about me anyway? My supposed ‘soul mate’ fucking died without even showing up before my eyes!”_

_But Chanyeol was ready to fill that void in her heart. But seems like she wasn’t ready to receive that love yet. True. Chanyeol never learns. She had warned him beforehand. But when she started to give him a bit more attention, he thought, maybe, maybe this time he can work it out with her. Cause his parent worked out just fine._

_It’s not like he had to have a soul mate, right? And what’s the point of waiting for your ‘chosen one’ to appear anyway?_

_Chanyeol didn’t want to live in the fear that before he knew it his eyes would turn grey. His soul mate will be lost as probably someone else’s lover._

But Chanyeol never learnt how he can avoid getting emotionally attached to someone. At this point of life, Chanyeol had stopped reaching out to people and trying to risk his sanity and balance his life with fate. He was tired. Tired of looking for a shoulder he could lean on. Tired of thinking of someone as his own and then losing them. Why did people have to leave him like this? Couldn’t they just, stay? So what they had other people fated to themselves? A young Chanyeol never understood what having a soul mate meant. How was he supposed to? Even though he said he didn’t like the whole soul mate thing, he too was searching for the person destined for him. 

It’s weird. Now that he has met his soul mate, he can’t help but be excited. What kind of person Baekhyun is. What kind of food he likes to eat. How he sleeps, how he talks when he’s happy. Chanyeol felt like a teen ager again. He felt excited. He was an adult for god’s sake! 

“Mom..” 

_“Yeollie! How is my baby doing?”_ Chanyeol smiles at his mother’s voice. She never fails to make him feel warm with her sweet talk.

_“You said you would come home last Thursday!”_

_“Yoora kept on waiting!”_ His mother scolds.

_“I even started making dinner for you.”_ She keeps on talking for a while long. And stops when she realized the person on the other line weren’t talking. 

_“Yeol-ah..”_ She softly calls out.

_“Do you have something to talk to me?”_ The mother asks, knowing that her son has something in his mind.

“Mom…” Chanyeol stops and takes a deep breath.

“I…” 

_“You..?”_ Mrs. Park feels her own heart racing, she didn’t understand what her son was going to say.

“Mom I found him.” He hears his mother’s breath stuck.

“I found my other eye.”

Chanyeol didn’t say much. He had nothing to say, to be precise. 

_“His name’s Baekhyun.”_

_To: Byun Baekhyun  
Baekhyun-ssi, I told my family about you today._

Chanyeol doesn’t know why he was texting this to Baekhyun. But he wanted to let the other man know. He doesn’t know what kind of relationship they are going to have in future, but he wants his soul mate to at least have a good relationship with his family. This should be a start.

_**New message:**  
From: Park Chanyeol  
Baekhyun-ssi, I told my family about you today._

Baekhyun reads the text twice. Then remembers he didn’t inform his parents either. But then, what difference would it actually make? He hoped it actually will. So he just puts an extra pair of clothing in a slack bag, and hops in the bus to his hometown five hours away from Seoul. 

Baekhyun’s wrist watch read exactly 6 AM in the morning. His mother gets up at 7.30. Contemplating whether or not he should knock right now or an hour later, Baekhyun does the first. It probably is two minutes later, Baekhyun hears soft sounds of someone coming closer to the door. The artist takes a deep breath, preparing himself for what’s going to come. 

Mrs. Byun’s sleep was rudely taken away by the doorbell. Getting up from the bed, she softly makes her way to downstairs, thinking about possible people who can be at their house at such hour in the morning. But the person outside was the least one she expected. There standing was Baekhyun, with the slack bag he always carried since his high school, and the tired smile gracing his lips. 

“Umma.. Good morning.” Mrs. Byun felt her legs give up as the morning sun falls over her son’s cheeks and eyes. Those eyes! Dear lord those eyes!

Mrs. Byun slowly closes the door of her son’s room. Not quite grasping on the truth yet. Last time Baekhyun came home like this was when…..

Baekhyun had cried as soon as he got the sight of his mother. And he cried for days straight. . She thought her child would never get out of that. Today, when she looked into her son’s eyes, she cried in relief. In thankfulness. 

“Baekhyunnie..Wake up.” Baekhyun feels his mother running her fingers through his hair. His eyes flutter open.

“Wake up, have breakfast.” Mrs. Byun leaves the room after the sleeping male sits up, clearly awake from his sleep.

Mrs. Byun puts the bowl of rice on the table when Baekhyun enters the dining area. 

“Sit.” She pulls the chair for her child, and like an obedient son, Baekhyun does so.

“You should have at least texted me that you were coming.” 

“I could have prepared something better for you.” 

“I just… felt like seeing you. So I just took my bag and got into the bus.” Mrs. Byun smiles. So like her son. 

“When will appa be back?” Baekhyun asks, knowing that the man was away with some office work.

“Probably tomorrow afternoon.” Baekhyun nods and continues eating.

“So….” The mother starts, and Baekhyun replies before her curiosity gets the best of her.

“Him.” 

“Yeah..Park Chanyeol.” Baekhyun finishes.

“So.. Do you have any pictures of him?” Mrs. Byun asks and he realizes that, no. He doesn’t have one. Yifan had asked him about Chanyeol’s picture too. But he didn’t know how to ask the man for a photo.

But…

_To: Park Chanyeol  
Chanyeol-ssi, can you send me a photo of yours?_

Baekhyun was feeling rather whimsical today.

_**New message From:** Park Chanyeol  
Uh.. okay?_

And the next text was with a picture of handsome Chanyeol, with his office suit and hair on, a beautiful smile gracing his lips.

_**New message From :** Byun Baekhyun  
Thank you. My mom wants to see you._

Chanyeol feels a weird kind of emotion in his chest after reading the text. It wasn’t something bad or ominous. He felt happy. 

_Ding!_

_**New message From :** Park Chanyeol  
Baekhyun-ssi, then can I get a picture of you too?_

Baekhyun sees the text, and proceeds to show the picture Chanyeol sent to his mother.

“Omo! He is such a handsome boy!” Baekhyun laughs at his mother’s exclamation. And forwards the photo to his mother’s number. For future uses. 

He suddenly then opens the front camera of his phone and scoots closer to his mom. Holding the phone in front of their face Baekhyun says,

“Mom, say kimchi!” 

_Click!_

Chanyeol looks at the photo and types a new message to the sender.

_To: Byun Baekhyun  
Baekhyun-ssi, let’s take a picture of both of us the next time we meet._

“Can’t you stay till tomorrow?” Baekhyun’s mother asks from the doorway. 

“I have two classes at the art academy tomorrow umma.” Baekhyun replies with a smile. 

“You came home after such a long time, that too without any notice!” Baekhyun just smiles. 

“I’ll come home soon.” He says as he kisses his mother goodbye. 

“Bring Chanyeol next time you visit!” He hears his mother say enthusiastically as he gets in his taxi taking him to the bus station.

Chanyeol contemplates on his decision on not wearing sun glasses at work. Was he ready for the question shower? He breathes out and puts the sunglasses in his coat pocket. In case he changes his mind.

The team manager enters the office floor in a fast pace. He was late. He could hear all the team members cackling. He takes a deep breath and pushes the door open. 

All head turned to him, intending to greet him. Chanyeol struggled to keep his laughter in as he saw his team mates go silent. It wasn’t difficult to see his eyes when he looked directly at their way. The whole team was quiet throughout the whole day. 

And it seemed like a planned thing when all seven team mates got into the elevator along with Chanyeol. Everyone had a tight smile on their lips.

“So team manager… Eye infection, eh?” Joohyun says and everyone bursts into a fit of laughter and Chanyeol couldn’t help but join in too.

“Aren’t you going to talk to Chanyeol about your relationship?” Baekhyun looks at Yifan who came to drop some things he asked him to buy.

“What’s there to talk?” The artist says in a reluctant voice.

“Oh I’m sure there are plenty of things you guys can talk about.” Baekhyun breaks his gaze from Yifan. 

“You guys are full grown adults. You really can’t expect emotions to help you solve things at this moment.”

“You have to talk.” Yifan prepares to leave, taking his coat from the hanger.

Talk to him huh?

What was he going to talk to Chanyeol? What kind of relationship he wants with him? Baekhyun didn’t want to care about these things. He was tired of everything.

_Ding!_

_**New message From:**  
Park Chanyeol  
Baekhyun-ssi, are you free this evening?_

Baekhyun wanted to say no. 

_To: Park Chanyeol  
No. I’m kinda_

Delete! Delete!

_To: Park Chanyeol  
I’m free. Why?_

_From: Park Chanyeol  
There’s a new udon restaurant that opened this week. Do you wanna grab dinner with me there?_

Fuck. How could he say no to Japanese food?

_To: Park Chanyeol.  
Sounds great. Text me the time and location._

_From: Park Chanyeol  
How about I pick you up? Wait for me at the park by 6.30. I’ll pick you from there._

Pick him up? It sounded like a date.

_To: Park Chanyeol  
Won’t that be a problem?_

_From: Park Chanyeol  
Not at all. That actually would save time. _

_To: Park Chanyeol  
Okay, I’ll be ready._

Baekhyun didn’t want to do what he was doing right now. But soon after he put his phone down, he discovered his closet almost empty and his bed filled with his clothes. 

“This is frustrating.” 

His eyes suddenly falls on the wall clock and he felt like slapping himself. It was already 45 minutes past five and he was standing in front of his closet clad in his boxers. 

“Fuck it.” He takes a towel and proceeds to shower first. 

Baekhyun end up with a dark grey trouser, blue shirt and a light grey cardigan. He was quick on his way to the park, lest Chanyeol might have to wait. 

A black car comes in his view as soon as he stepped in the park ground. The car parks by the road and the door of the driver’s seat opens. Chanyeol raises his hand to wave at the other one standing at some distance. 

Baekhyun walks closer and unknowingly his lips curl into a small smile. 

“Hey…” Chanyeol greeted. 

“Ready to go?” Baekhyun nods and Chanyeol gets into the driving seat again. 

“You went back home this week?” Chanyeol asks.

“Yeah.. I thought I should let her know.”

“And it had been a while since I saw her.” Baekhyun replies.

“I see..” Chanyeol says as silence falls over them once again. Chanyeol kept on looking at the male sitting beside him. Wondering how he could dress so lightly when the weather was still so cold.

“Are you cold?” Baekhyun looks at his way, eyes alert, as if he has been caught hiding.

“I didn’t expect it to be so cold outside.” Chanyeol looks around and stops his car. Baekhyun looks at his in a confused manner. But he just gets out of the car again. Baekhyun hears the man opening the car boot and the closing it again.

And when Chanyeol comes back with something in his hand, Baekhyun felt confused. It was a blanket.

“Wrap this around yourself.” It was a blanket with Iron man. 

“My niece loves Iron-man...” Baekhyun laughs but wraps the blanket around himself anyway.

“You are a caring uncle.” Chanyeol’s ears turns reddish at the compliment. 

And after almost forty five minutes of drive, they arrive at the place. 

“Keep the blanket on. It’s way colder in here.” Chanyeol says and Baekhyun looks at him in disbelief.

“You want me to have this on?” He asks again.

“Yes. Unless you want to catch a cold.” Chanyeol’s eyes were firm and Baekhyun sighed. 

It was a small restaurant with a cozy vibe. There weren’t air cooling system or heater. But Baekhyun liked the place. 

“What would you have?” Chanyeol asks. But Baekhyun couldn’t decide, and the old woman was standing beside them to take their order with her eye brows knitted together. 

“I.. I’ll take the Niku udon.” Baekhyun says with a haste.

“Okay, and a curry for me.” Chanyeol says with a smile. 

“Okay gentlemen, any drink you wanna have?” 

“I have to drive back, so no for me. Baekhyun-ssi do you want anything?” Baekhyun was once again tempted to order sweet sake. But he was sure he would get carried away with drinking.

“No.. Just water will be fine.” Both of them sit is silence, Baekhyun occasionally clutched on the blanket wrapped around himself. 

“Baekhyun-ssi, do you like eating udon?” Chanyeol suddenly asks.

“I like them.” 

“Ah.. That’s great then.” The artist didn’t like the silence that fell over them once again. So clutching on his blanket again, he asks,

“Your niece.. How old is she?” Chanyeol’s eyes instantly lights up being asked about his niece.

“She’s three.” 

“And she already loves Iron-man?” Baekhyun couldn’t help but be amazed. 

“Yeah.. More like I love it. So she kind of picked it up from me.” The taller finishes.

“So you have a brother or…” Baekhyun asks carefully.

“Older sister.” 

“Ah…That’s nice…” Before they fell silent again, the old lady from before came back with their order. 

“Woah! This is so good!” Baekhyun exclaimed after his first bite, and Chanyeol laughs a little from the other side of the table. 

“I’m glad that you like it Baekhyun-ssi.” Baekhyun felt his face getting warmer at the reply. 

“This tastes great too. You should try it Baekhyun-ssi.” Chanyeol says pointing at his own bowl. And before Baekhyun could protest, Chanyeol puts his bowl in front of him, urging him to take a bite. Setting his embarrassment away, Baekhyun takes a bite. 

“Should we leave?” Chanyeol asks while putting his wallet back in his pocket. Baekhyun couldn’t pay. 

“Yeah..” Both leaves the shop, intending to go to the car parked just some steps away. 

“Chanyeol-ssi, can we walk for some moment?” Baekhyun suddenly asks. 

Chayeol replies covering his surprise.

“Sure.” 

“Thank you for bringing me here today. I loved the food and everything.” Baekhyun expresses, both of them passing their parked car. 

“You’re welcome.” They walk side to side, in a slow pace. 

“Chanyeol-ssi..” Chanyeol looks at the man walking beside him, sees the other looking at his way.

“Do you feel happy that you’ve found me?” both of them halt under a lamp post. Chanyeol sees Baekhyun’s ashy blue eye sparkle under the white light.

“I am Baekhyun-ssi. I am happy.” 

“Why?” Baekhyun felt like a horrible person asking this nice man these mean things. 

“Because you are my soul mate.” Chanyeol gives a clear answer.

“You don’t love me, I don’t love you. Are you saying this just because nature played some weird tricks and made our eyes the same?” 

“No…No! What am I saying!” Baekhyun screams in his head. Chanyeol looks at him with an unreadable expression. 

“I probably wouldn’t have cared much about this soul mate thing Baekhyun-ssi….” 

“I would say I was very opposed to the idea of soul mates. That you have to be with that chosen person once you find them..”

“I found this ridiculous.” 

“Why can’t I love a person because I want to love them?” Baekhyun looks at the person in wide eyes. Feeling his own heart beating so loudly in his chest. 

_“Why can’t I just be with him!”_ Baekhyun hears Baekhyun from 12 years back. When he lost to his cruel fate. 

“I have lost all the people I thought were dear to me.” 

“I lost to fate.” Chanyeol’s eyes looked glossy, Baekhyun couldn’t break his gaze away from the other male.

“But then fate gave me you Baekhyun-ssi.” 

“I don’t know, what’s this feeling in my chest every time I think of you.”

“Maybe relief. Because you are my person.”

“And fate doesn’t have any excuse to take you away from me again.”

Ah. 

Baekhyun needed to hear this. He didn’t know how much he needed to hear this. His eyes sting and he hurriedly looked away from those eyes.

“Baekhyun-ssi, can I hold your hand?” Chanyeol asks and Baekhyun holds his hand out after some moment of deliberating. Chanyeol’s hand was cold, sending chills through his warm palm. Chanyeol stares at their joined hand.

“You have pretty hands.”

“Just like your face.” Baekhyun feels himself blushing at the comment. 

“Let’s get in the car. It’s getting colder.” 

Neither of them let go of their hands.   
The car ride back to the city was silent. 

Baekhyun felt a hint of disappointment in his heart when the car came to a halt in front of his apartment building. He hoped that the ride back to the city would be a bit longer.

Chanyeol gets out from the car along with Baekhyun. 

“Please keep it.” Chanyeol shakes his head when Baekhyun opts to return the blanket.

“But.. You said it was for your niece.” 

“I can always buy a new one for her. Keep it as a gift from me.” The taller says with a pleasant smile on his face. Baekhyun didn’t realize when Chanyeol moves from the other side of the car. Now was now standing right in front of him.

Nodding his head, Baekhyun looks around, trying to avoid looking at the taller male’s face.

“So… I’ll be going then… Thanks for tonight. I had a very nice time.” Baekhyun stretches his lip in a tight smile and turns his back to the man dropping him home.

“Baekhyun-ssi!” Baekhyun feels a sudden pull at his hand and his eyes widen. He looks back at the man holding his hand.

“I can be anything you want me to be.”

“I can be your best friend.”

“I can be your lover.”

“Or simply a shoulder for you to lean on.”

Baekhyun’s heart skips a beat looking at the determined eyes of his soul mate.

“But you can’t push me away.” The hold around his wrist tightens a bit, but it isn’t suffocating. 

“Not when fate has given me something after taking so many things from me.”

“Chanyeol-ssi…” Baekhyun felt his airways closing. This was getting too much for him to bear.

“You just have to ask Baekhyun-ah” 

“And I’ll try to give you that.”

“I probably can’t give you everything.” 

“If you ask me to love you, I’ll love you.” Baekhyun puts his free hand over his mouth, trying to hide the fact that his having a mental breakdown in middle of the street at the wee hour of night.

“Just ask me Baekhyun-ah…” 

“I promise I won’t ask anything in return.” 

Baekhyun’s body shakes as the wave of cry crashes over his body.

“Just don’t push me away.” 

“Stop! Please stop!” Baekhyun yells as he tries to snatch his hand away. 

“Why are you being like this?” Baekhyun tries to wipe the tears wetting the blanket wrapping around him. 

“I can’t fall in love with you.” The crying male sucks in a deep breath, tears falling relentlessly. 

“I can’t give you anything.” 

“So why would you? Why are you risking so many things for someone like me?” Baekhyun asks in a determined voice this time.

Chanyeol had an unreadable expression on his face. The slightly chilly air of the late spring played with the unkempt hair of the taller man. 

“I don’t know Baekhyun-ah….” Knitted eyebrows eases and a small smile graces Chanyeol’s face. His skin shines beautifully under the orange light of the street. Baekhyun’s tears stop falling over his cheeks and neck. 

“When I look at you..” 

“I feel like risking everything for you.” And weirdly enough, Baekhyun starts crying again. God! What was wrong with him! 

“I hate you!” Baekhyun says hitting the taller man on his chest. Chanyeol was quick to get a hold of both of his hands and pulls him in chest. His folded arms pressing against the taller’s chest. 

“Don’t cry Baekhyun-ah..” Chanyeol coos. 

“I really hate you!” 

“You’re one of those people!”

“Those people?” Chanyeol asks. 

“Yes! Like angels in disguise!” Chanyeol let out a loud laugh and Baekhyun could feel the vibration through his whole body. His violent cry now turned into soft hiccups. 

Chanyeol keeps the artist in his arms for a while, stroking his head relentlessly. 

“Have you calmed down?” Chanyeol asks stroking Baekhyun over his cheek. Baekhyun nods, confirming to the other’s statement. 

“You should go inside.” Baekhyun nods again and proceeds to go inside his apartment building like an obedient boy. 

Closing the door behind him, Baekhyun slides down on the floor. He can’t believe what just happened few minutes earlier. 

Inside his head felt like a mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading if anyone has read the update


	3. I found you

“What should I do Soo-ya?” Baekhyun throws the question in the air. 

“Do you think I still have a chance Soo-ya?” Kyungsoo combed his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair, who had his head lying on his thigh.

“Hm.. But you are the only one in my heart though.” Baekhyun remembers laughing. Why were they dating in the first place? Cause neither of them had found their soul mates yet. 

But for Baekhyun, 

He simply loved his penguin. And he was so fucking afraid that one day, the colors of penguin’s eyes would turn as same as the person he was fated to be with, and he will be left alone. 

He felt fucking selfish wanting to keep Kyungsoo only to himself. Wouldn’t his world be void if there were no Kyungsoo? How could he think a day where he didn’t get kiss the boy he loved with all his heart? He thought of every stupid thing that might happen if either of them suddenly finds their soul mate. He kept on worrying. He kept on thinking. How he will deal with the inevitable heartbreak. 

He wasn’t even Kyungsoo’s soul mate. Yet how could he love him so much?

“Soo-ya..” Baekhyun stopped at his track for a while. The portrait of Kyungsoo was almost done, except of the eyes. 

“Hm..?” The said male hums.

“What colors do you want your eyes to be?”

Kyungsoo looks at his way this time. His left eye shines brilliantly, just like how sun reflects on ice.

“What color do you want me to have?” Kyungsoo questions back.

“Blue.” Baekhyun replies without hesitation.

“I can’t return the other one of the pair to you though.” Kyungsoo looks at the boy sitting on the grass with paint brush with blue smudged on the bristles. The left eye of him was shining brilliantly. 

Just like how sun reflects on ice.

But when the day came, Baekhyun really didn’t feel anything. Or he should say he didn’t know how to feel, what to feel.

“Soo-ya… hey didn’t you go for an interview?” Kyungsoo had applied for a part time singing job in a newly opened bar in their neighborhood. But here he was, in Baekhyun’s dorm, in his arms, his face buried in his chest. Baekhyun could feel his shirt dampening with the tears of the boy in his arms.

“Soo-ya.. Hey penguin, look at me.” But Kyungsoo wouldn’t budge. He kept on muttering “I’m sorry” “I’m sorry”. 

After much coaxing, Kyungsoo looked at him. His eyes puffy because of the tears he had shed. His eyes looked very red. And so very blue. 

For a moment Baekhyun seemed to forget the meaning behind it. His Soo was looking so very beautiful.

“Omo.. Look at my penguin! So fucking pretty!” Baekhyun had said cupping his face in his palm, putting a soft kiss on the damp cheek. 

“Why did I have to meet him.” Kyungsoo’s voice broke, more tears rolled down to his cheeks. He clutched onto Baekhyun even more. Baekhyun didn’t say anything. How should he feel? 

“Hey..Look at me..” Baekhyun looked into those eyes again. 

“Don’t be like this…” The crying boy didn’t pay any heed to it.

“I can’t be away from you.”Kyungsoo said pressing his heart shaped lips against Baekhyun’s thinner ones. 

Baekhyun still said nothing. Hadn’t he prepared himself for this since the very beginning? 

“Baek….I want you.” Kyungsoo suddenly demanded.

“What…?” Baekhyun stared at his lover. 

“Please.. Make love to me.” The urgency in the other’s eyes made Baekhyun waiver. 

_“Don’t give in! Don’t give in!”_ Baekhyun kept on chanting to himself. 

“Don’t push me away please..” Kyungsoo said, pressing another kiss on the other male’s lips. 

_“This is going to be the last time…”_ Baekhyun tried to reason himself. Heechul said he would come back early today. But he didn’t care anymore. Soon clothes came off. Baekhyun showered kissed all over the exposed skin of the boy beneath him. Their body rocked slowly, lips never leaving each other. Both of them were doing a failed attempt to make this time last.

“You look so fucking beautiful….” Baekhyun said, looking deep into those ashy blue eyes. 

“I could never draw you so beautifully.” 

“My beautiful Soo!” 

“Fuck Byun! Why the hell the room is so dark!” Baekhyun’s roommate said irritatingly, his shin still hurting from hitting the shoe rack. Switching on the light, Heechul was greeted with a kind of familiar sight. Kyungsoo was sleeping peacefully on Baekhyun’s bed, probably naked under the sheets. But Baekhyun…

He was sitting by the bed, clad in his boxers with his knees folded and drawn to his chest. Hands propped over the knees, head hanging low. 

“The room stinks Byun! Why the fuck did you not open the window?” Heechul attempts to open the window.

“Hyung.. don’t” Baekhyun says in a broken voice.

“Please don’t….” Heechul was taken aback as Baekhyun suddenly broke down, chest heaving as heavy cry broke out of his chest. Muffled cry resonated throughout the small apartment.

Awoken by the cry, Kyungsoo jerked up. Heechul was thunderstruck. Kyungsoo…

The said male jumped out of bed and threw himself in Baekhyun’s arms. Baekhyun only cried harder.

“Soo-ya… Don’t go please…” The crying male pleaded, wrapping his arms around the other in a desperate manner. Kyungsoo just pulled Baekhyun closer, his own eyes filling with tears once again.

“I love you! I love you! Please…”

“Soo-ya!” 

Baekhyun jolts awake from his slumber. His shirt drenched in sweat. He doesn’t know why he’s having these fragments of memories again. He headed to his bathroom to freshen up. The bed side clock read forty past three in the morning. Turning on the light, Baekhyun splashes cold water on his face, hoping to feel better. 

He looked into the mirror. Baekhyun has always had a mixed emotion about his eye. He would spend minutes after minutes looking at his own eyes through the mirror. 

_“Why do you want your eyes to be blue?” Baekhyun remembers asking Kyungsoo every time, again and again. Just to know if the answer’s still the same._

_“Because that means I always have half of your soul.”_

“Did you return the half of it penguin?” Baekhyun asks at his own reflection.

Baekhyun thought he was remembering his times with Kyungsoo way too much these days. He should visit him some day now.

He noticed the pain he used to feel each time he thought of Kyungsoo weren’t there anymore. Just a feeling of void would ring in his heart. It’s true that he can never stop loving the man. But the pain of losing him weren’t as much painful as it was before. He had gotten used to it. 

But Chanyeol was never in his plans. Having his soul mate with him, right there was overwhelming. He didn’t know what to feel.

How many years has it been? Since he has said I love you to someone? How many years has it been since he’s even felt how it felt to love? He even forgot how to love.

He got his soul mate after so many years of waiting, now having him felt like a nuisance. Nuisance because he doesn’t know how to treat the man who’s ready to risk his everything for someone like him. 

“What should I do Soo-ya?” Baekhyun throws this question in the air again. 

“You know I kept on dreaming about Soo.” Baekhyun feels his friend’s movement stuttering a bit. But Yifan’s face doesn’t show any change in emotion.

“I thought I had moved on from him. But realized I can never do that.”

“Just the pain of losing him doesn’t hurt anymore.” Baekhyun sips on the glass of water.The sound of chopsticks clanking against the utensils were the only sound for some moment. 

“I’m sorry..” The bar owner says.Baekhyun felt like slapping himself for bringing up the topic at their breakfast table.

“Yah! What the fuck? Why is everyone making me look like the bad guy?” Yifan laughs and Baekhyun huffs in annoyance. 

“No.. Really. Soo was yours to begin with.”

“I took him away from you.” Yifan had a playful look in his eyes.

“Yifan.” But Baekhyun was having none of it.

“Soo was your soul mate. You were meant to be with him.” The artist replied.

“Isn’t Chanyeol the same for you then Baek?” 

Yifan had a smile of victory on his face and Baekhyun was stunned. 

“Baek..” The bar owner calls out, putting his palm over the artist’s fisted hand.

“Look, Soo would have been the happiest about Chanyeol. You know that right?” Baekhyun doesn’t look at Yifan in the eye. He knew what the bar owner saying was true. 

“You thought about his happiness over yours.”

“Don’t you think it’s time you found your own?”  
Chanyeol looks at the screen again. No new message from Baekhyun. For a week straight. Did he go a bit over board that day? Chanyeol couldn’t break down anything. He sighs and gets back to his work. And he snatches his phone at lightning speed when a *New message* tone rings. 

_**New message From:** Byun Baekhyun  
Chanyeol-ssi, can we meet at dinner tonight? My treat. _

Chanyeol feels like his heart doing summersaults at the text.

 _To: Byun Baekhyun  
Sure. Text me the details._

And three hours left before his shift for that day was over seemed to have been going slowly.

Chanyeol rushes out of the meeting room. The last meeting took longer than usual. Looking at his wrist watch, he dashes out to his car, only to see he forgot his keys at his office room.

Great!

Baekhyun had his hands in his coat pocket, kicking a small pebble on the street. 

Chanyeol was probably running late. He came from his art class earlier just so he wouldn’t be late. But his companion for the night was. 

Just when he was thinking he’d call the taller, a black car stops just beside him.

“Baekhyun-ssi! I’m so sorry I’m late again.”

“Ssi again?” Baekhyun kind of liked when Chanyeol had called him ‘Baekhyun-ah’ 

“It’s okay. Park your car around here. We’re eating here tonight.” Chanyeol looks out and sees a barbeque house. 

“I’m sorry for always being late like this.” Baekhyun just smiles.

“It’s okay Chanyeol-ssi. You are a busy person to begin with.” Chanyeol nods in acknowledgement. 

“I’m sorry for disappearing for this week. I just needed to collect my thoughts.” Baekhyun says and his soul mate from the other side of the table shakes his head.

“No no! I went a bit overboard and said too much.”

“I’m so sorry for making you cry.” Guilt was prominent in Chanyeol’s eyes and Baekhyun realized he didn’t like this expression on the taller man’s face.

“But I needed that talk.” The latter looks at him with confused eyes.

“I needed someone to tell me those actually.”

“So Chanyeol-ssi..”

“Thank you for making me cry.” Chanyeol beams and rest of the dinner went in relatively silent. 

“Chanyeol-ssi, let’s go for a drink.” Baekhyun offers getting out of the barbeque house.

“I won’t get you drunk, I promise.” Baekhyun smiles at the confused face of the taller. 

“Let’s leave your car here. The bar’s just few block away.” 

“Can I hold your hand?” Baekhyun feels his heart beating a bit faster. But he holds out his own hand anyway. 

The hand holding onto his own hand felt warm, unlike the day before. It was comfortable.

“Oh.. Tenshi-sama! You’ve brought a customer with you tonight?” Yifan says without seeing the conjoined hand of his friend. 

“Yifan, he’s Chanyeol.” Baekhyun introduces and the bar owner’s eyes widen a bit. 

“Oh! I see. I’m Wu Yifan, onwner of this bar.” Yifan holds out his hand to the new customer.

“Park Chanyeol.”

“So Tenshi-sama, what do you want?” Yifan asks despite knowing what the latter was going to order. 

“You know me.” 

“Chanyeol-ssi, is there anything specific you want?” Baekhyun asks his partner.

“What are you having?” He asks back.

“Sweet warm sake. Have you tried it?” Chanyeol shakes his head. He never had warm alcohol, that too a sweet one. 

“Then I’ll try the same.” 

“Why call him Tenshi sama?” Chanyeol asks in while Baekhyun was away in the restroom.

“Oh! It’s just whenever he comes, a good amount of customer always visits. So he’s like, the angel of prosperity for my bar.” Yifan says with a short laugh. 

“And with his eyes so blue like that, he looks like a real life Tenshi.”

“I do not.” Baekhyun says in a scolding manner, back from the rest room. 

“Aww.. Don’t be embarrassed! Next time I’ll prepare a wing set and angel ring for you. Chanyeol smiles at the interaction. Chanyeol doesn’t say anything when he looks how grey the bar owner’s eyes looked. Probably this is the bar his team mates were talking about that day. The world is such a small place!

Chanyeol sips on the warm sweet drink and before he knew it, he already had finished half of a bottle.

“Chanyeol-ssi.” Chanyeol looks at Baekhyun when he put his hand on his wrist.

“Don’t drink anymore. You have to drive back home right?” Chanyeol already felt a bit tipsy. But he nodded his head anyway. Chanyeol then tries to take out it wallet when the owner stops him.

“You’re my special customer. I can’t take money from you.”

“But…” Chanyeol tries to protest.

“You’re the guest my Tenshi-sama personally brought. He’ll curse me if I take money for my service.” 

“Tenshi-sama, please bless my bar with more customers.” Yifan then brings both of his palms together and bows at Baekhyun and he just rolls his eyes.

“We’ll be going then.” Baekhyun announces before getting off his chair. 

Chanyeol couldn’t understand if the weather was a bit warmer or it was just his heart pumping too much blood through his body. Baekhyun kept on holding his hand as they walk through a quiet neighborhood. 

“Chanyeol-ssi.”

Chanyeol looks at the man walking beside him.

“Did you enjoy your time with me?” Baekhyun’s heart skipped a beat when the man’s lips stretches into a drunken smile.

“I had a great time Baekhyun-ssi.” The smile seemed to infect Baekhyun too, because he found himself smiling along.

“I’m glad.” Both of them keep on walking and the black car parked beside the road comes in view. Chanyeol couldn’t help but feel a tinge of disappointment in his chest. He wanted this walk to last a bit longer.

“Chanyeol-ssi.. Are you sure you can drive back by yourself?” Baekhyun asks with worry lacing his voice.

“I can Baekhyun-ssi. I’m not drunk yet.” Chanyeol says in a carefree tone. 

Neither of them moves. As if neither of them wanted to part their ways here. 

“Chanyeol-ssi…” Chanyeol looks at the man, taking his gaze away from the ground.

“I don’t need a best friend.” Chanyeol feels all the happiness he gathered this evening was drained out of him.

“The man you met earlier, is my best friend.” The taller man looks away from the beautiful face in front of him.

“Nor do I need a shoulder to lean on.” Baekhyun had a straight expression on his face.

“I see…” Chanyeol stutters out a reply. Was this it? Was Baekhyun going to say he didn’t want to be with him? He gently tries to set his hand free from other’s grasp. But the hold seemed to only tighten.

“But.. It’s been so long since I’ve loved someone..” Chanyeol kept looking away. 

“I probably have forgotten how to even love someone again.” Baekhyun sees the taller man’s shoulder drop.

“So Chanyeol-ssi…”

“Can you teach me?” Chanyeol whips his head so fast that Baekhyun for once feared that the taller might have hurt his neck in the process. He wasn’t saying anything. His thick lips kept on trembling slightly, pretty eyes sparkling in excitement and questions.

“I want to fall in love with you Chanyeol-ssi.” Baekhyun says with a small smile. Chanyeol's eyes widen in surprise. Was he hearing right? Just a moment ago he was fully prepared to get rejected. Heaven must be on his side tonight.

“So will you let me?” Baekhyun says with a hint of desperation in his eyes. And Chanyeol just felt like soaking in that. 

“Yes! Yes! Fuck yes!” Chanyeol yells excitedly before pulling Baekhyun into a bone crushing hug. 

“Thank you for giving me a chance Baekhyun-ssi..” The taller mumbles close to his ear. His nose brushing the side of his face, warm breath fanning over his cold cheek. But he couldn’t bother to mind. It felt nice.

“I feel so freaking happy.” Chanyeol let goes of Baekhyun for a while, then pulling him in a hug again. The artist felt his face getting warmer. And the stupid grin the taller man had plastered on his face wasn’t helping at all. He found himself smiling along. 

Chanyeol finally loosens his arms around the other. He had this unreadable expression on his face that Baekhyun couldn’t decipher.

“You truly look like an angel.”

“So pretty…” Chanyeol says as he drags his thumb over the skin of Baekhyun’s cheek.

“Yifan infected your mind in that short time?” 

Baekhyun didn’t need another person calling him ‘Tenshi-sama’.

“My angel..”

It came out as a whisper but Baekhyun heard it anyway. The hand Baekhyun was holding on earlier held his chin and a warm pair of lips landed on his cheek. 

His breath hitches as he felt another person’s warm breath fanning over his cheek. But it disappeared as soon as it came.

Baekhyun moved away a bit. Clearing his throat he speaks.

“So… Chanyeol-ssi”

“We’ll meet tomorrow.” Chanyeol finishes on his behalf. 

.................................

“So you guys are dating?” Baekhyun thinks over this question a bit. Yifan continues to do his chores on the other side of the phone.

“Yeah.. I guess.” He could feel a smile curling in his friend’s lips.

“I’m really happy for you Baek.” 

“But I can’t offer free drinks each time you Tenshi-sama visit with your companion.” 

“Don’t get so full of yourself. I never asked you to offer free alcohol for my companion.” Yifan laughs and they hang up after a bit of chit chatting.

_**New message From:** Park Chanyeol  
Baekhyun-ssi, do you want to go for a movie?_

What? Movie at a week day? Not that Baekhyun had any problem. He had more flexible working schedule anyway.

_To: Park Chanyeol  
Uh.. Sure? _

_From: Park Chanyeol  
Okay great._

Well. It has been a while since Baekhyun’s been to movies. He kind of felt excited. 

Chanyeol waited for some moment more for the last person on their working floor to leave. He brought casual dresses with him today, cause watching movie in suits, looked kinda weird in his eyes. 

Baekhyun was picked up from the same park as before. Chanyeol was wearing casual dresses despite its being a week day. He looked handsome.

“Which movie are we watching?” Baekhyun asks.

“You’ll see once we get there.” Chanyeol replies with a childish grin.

The movie they watched was a sappy romance story and Baekhyun learnt that Chanyeol was a sucker for them. 

Later on he learnt even though tragedy and shit made him cry, still Chanyeol always tried to watch movies that will make him cry. What a child. And before Baekhyun knew, a few weeks have passed.

But Baekhyun found it very endearing. Especially how he could comfort the crying male after each movie. Even though it hasn’t been long since they have started dating, Baekhyun liked to be in the other’s presence.

“Baekhyun-ssi, have you ever had your paintings exhibited?” Chanyeol asked in on their way back home from a night out.

“I have my own studio.” Chanyeol’s eyes widen at the answer.

“No way! How come I didn’t know about this?” Baekhyun just laughs at the reaction. Another thing he learnt about the taller is how much expressive his eyes can be at times. 

“Because I never told you about it.” 

“It’s actually on the first floor of my apartment building.” Now that Chanyeol thinks about it, the apartment building Baekhyun lives in have only three floors.

“So you own your apartment building?” The team manager asks out of curiosity. 

“Yeah.. More or less. I still have some money to pay off for it though.” 

Woah. Baekhyun certainly didn’t act like it but he seemed fucking rich.

“You must be thinking that I don’t look like who can afford living like this.” The taller felt ashamed in the artist’s eyes. He didn’t realize that he was thinking out loud.

“I’m sorry.” Chanyeol apologizes. 

“It’s okay Chanyeol-ssi. Everyone thinks that about me.” They walk in silence till Baekhyun’s house.

“Hey.. Do you wanna see my art gallery?” Baekhyun asked. Suddenly wanting to show his drawings to Chanyeol like an excited kid to show his paintings to his crush. 

“Can I?” Chanyeol asks again in an excited voice. 

Baekhyun punches the security code of the door of his art gallery. It was very well secured. As soon as Baekhyun switched the lights on, Chanyeol saw a beautiful open space with a careful interior designing. There was a working desk in the corner of the room with a few chair neatly arranged.

“Come. I’ll show you around.” Chanyeol nods.

Most of the paintings were of faces. People’s faces. With elaborated details of their eyes. Chanyeol doesn’t know much about art or how to appreciate them. But looking at these, he felt like he could feel the emotions the artist tried to put through his painting.

“Baekhyun-ssi..!”

“These are amazing!” Chanyeol’s whole heart was in awe. He was mesmerized. 

“Thank you.” The gallery wasn’t really big, so their tour came to an ended within few minutes of tour. 

“Would you like to drink coffee Chanyeol-ssi?” Even though he already has had two mugs of coffee already, another one wouldn’t hurt. 

“Sure.” 

Baekhyun leads them down to a set of stairs, which Chanyeol guessed led to the basement.

“I have the coffee machine set in my working studio.” 

A smell of chemicals hit Chanyeol’s nose. But it wasn’t something unpleasant.

“Sorry for the mess.” 

There were easels everywhere in the room. But the jars of colors were neatly kept in the shelves. The mess looked neat.

“I’ll bring in the coffee.” Baekhyun leaves and Chanyeol took small steps, intending to look around studio by himself. Some easels had some unfinished portraits. Chanyeol passed them with giving them short glances. His feet came to halt in front of a desk. Sketch books were scattered on it. Chanyeol picked one up and flipped it open. First few pages were drawings of eyes. Some were rough sketches, with comments written on them with a red pen. 

Probably these are from the time when Baekhyun was still a student. 

A red sketch pad particularly caught his attention. It had a penguin drawn on the cover. 

The whole notebook was filled with the sketch of the same person. A beautiful boy with one eye ashy blue, just like him and Baekhyun. And another one hazel brown. 

And in some pictures he had both of his eyes ashy blue. He looked happy and beautiful. 

“He’s my ex lover.” Chanyeol almost dropped the sketchbook. 

“I’m sorry..” Baekhyun puts the coffee cups on the table. 

“It’s okay Chanyeol-ssi.”

Baekhyun passes Chanyeol the mug of steaming hot coffee. 

“We grew up in the same neighborhood in our childhood.” The artist sips on his coffee.

“And I had been in love with him ever since I understood what love meant. Cliché, right?” Baekhyun ushers Chanyeol to sit on one of the stools.

“But then I was young and reckless. And loving him felt like heaven.” The smaller man had a affectionate smile on his lips. Chanyeol kept his eyes fixated on him all the time.

“And then Yifan happened. Kyungsoo was at the bar, for an interview for a part time singer there. Then boom!” 

Ah. So his name was Kyungsoo.

“He was my boyfriend’s soul mate.” Chanyeol felt his heart squeeze tightly in his chest. 

“It was so hard! Letting him go…” Baekhyun still had that affectionate smile on.

“But then he had a different look in his eyes when he would be around Yifan. A happiness I couldn’t give him.” 

“So I thought I had no right to deprive him of that happiness.” 

“Am I boring you Chanyeol-ssi?” Baekhyun asks the other male seeing his dazed look. 

“No no! Please continue.” The taller man says shaking his head. The artist continues with a nod of head.

“I knew if I had told Kyungsoo that I wanted him back, he would come back to me running. Leaving his everything behind.”

“But I somehow managed to control myself back then.” 

“I was in love with him before I got to understand what love really was.”

“As if I have always been in love with him.” Baekhyun says in a distant voice.

“So I really never got the chance to fall in love with anyone.” Chanyeol couldn’t understand what this feeling was in his chest.

“But I really hope I can fall in love with you Chanyeol-ssi.”

Baekhyun said and Chanyeol, for some moment couldn’t understand what to say. There were so many questions he wanted to ask. So many things he wanted to say to the artist. But his brain couldn’t form a proper sentence.

“My…” Chanyeol speaks up. 

“My parents were non soul mates.” 

“Neither of them found their own.” Chanyeol looks into the empty coffee mug.

“So I thought, Oh I can just work out fine even if I don’t find mine.” 

“But it never worked out.” 

“But with you, I want it to work it out too Baekhhyun-ssi.”

“I too want to fall in love with you.” Chanyeol says and Baekhyun just stares at him. He could already feel an deafening silence ensuing. With both of their heart cut open, they felt like there was nothing to hide from the other person at that moment. So they just bathed in the silence for some minutes, only the sound of them breathing was the only sound heard in the room.

“Ah.. Look at the time Chanyeol-ssi! You have office tomorrow right?” Baekhyun suddenly says in a panicky tone. Time seemed to have flown, because it already was midnight. 

“Yeah…” The taller replies.

“Come, I’ll guide you out.” The artist says getting up from his own seat. 

“You loved him very much, didn’t you?” Baekhyun halts on his way out. He speaks up after few seconds of silence, as if he needed to prepare the answer.

“I still love him a lot. But it’s for the friendship we had, the time we spent together.”

“I don’t have any definition for our relationship to be honest.”

“Because he was always meant for Yifan.” Baekhyun turns around, facing the taller.

“And I was always meant for you Chanyeol-ssi.” 

Those words escaped Baekhyun’s lips and Chanyeol felt like those were the words he has been wanting to hear all his life. His heart squeezed painfully and his speech twisted weirdly. And before he realized, he was running toward the shorter male standing under the yellow lamp post, his pale face looking ever so beautiful. Chanyeol slides his arm on the other’s hips and pulls him close.

“Baekhyun-ssi…. You ….”

“You look so beautiful!”

Chanyeol wanted to scream out loud. 

But said something entirely different. 

“Can I kiss you?” Baekhyun’s puppy eyes widened but he nodded feverishly. Chanyeol slipped his other hand on the back of the shorter male’s head and softly put his lips on the other’s. 

Chanyeol gently sucked on the lower lip, and then the upper. Baekhyun tried to kiss back with just as much emotion the taller man was putting into. Their lips moved in a passionate sync. Baekhun was clutching tightly on the taller’s coat. He didn’t want to let go of this person. He didn’t want to let go of any more chances where he could be happy. 

Not anymore. 

Chanyeol loosens his hold on Baekhyun’s head. His lips letting go of the other’s lower. Both of them were out of breath and felt light headed. But no one seemed to care.

“You look so beautifully mine Baekhyun-ah!” Chanyeol says with a dazed smile. 

Baekhyun still doesn’t understand what falling in love feels like. But Yifan says he looks dumb in love.  
He probably was a dumb in love. Who can say how they fell in love?

But probably it was the automatic smile that always found its way on his lips every time he saw Chanyeol.

Probably it was the feeling of constant comfort he felt whenever he was around the taller. 

He could name a few and say, probably, he was very much in love with that team manager with a goofy smile. And he doesn’t even know how.

It was very different from what he felt with Kyungsoo. There was something carefree about the thought of being in love with Chanyeol. Probably it was that Chanyeol was his and his only? 

Who knows!

“Baekhyun-ssi!” Chanyeol calls out.

“You know, before meeting you I thought I didn’t care if I got to meet my soul mate or not.” The taller man had his hands in his coat pocket. 

“I am an old man now, you know.” Baekhyun looks at the man with a weird look.

“But after meeting you, I don’t know what’s this feeling in my chest.” Chanyeol points at his chest.

“I feel like an excited teen again with you. And I suddenly wanna do all the stupid things a 30 years old man shouldn’t do.” 

“But I want to. Because it’s you.” Chanyeol finishes and Baekhyun smiles. He strides a bit further and stops couple of meter away from where Chanyeol was standing. 

“Chanyeol-ssi.” Baekhyun calls out to the man.

“Do you think you have fallen in love with me?” Baekhyun asks in a childish manner. Probably he had too much sake tonight. And Chanyeol just smiles.

“Maybe. Who knows?” Chanyeol closes the distance between themselves and holds onto Baekhyun’s hand.

“How about you Baekhyun-ssi?”

“Do you think you have fallen in love with me?” Chanyeol had a playful smile playing on his lips.

“If it’s you Chanyeol-ssi” Baekhyun faces the taller with a drunken smile on his face. Chanyeol’s eyes shone beautifully in the night.

“I can always say I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Who knew? Chanyeol was going to find his soul mate like this? Never in his wildest dreams he would have thought that he would have someone he could call “mine”. 

He still was afraid. Afraid that their time might fall short. There might be so many things left to know about the other person but time will run out. But then, their souls were tied together with their eyes. Weren’t they?

“Baekhyun-ssi.” The artist looks at him.

“Please don’t disappear from my eyes.” Baekhyun looked into Chanyeol’s eyes. Oh how much Baekhyun loved those eyes! And smiles. 

“Chanyeol-ssi, I’m sure your eyes will always find me.”

“Just as mine found you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this actually is the end of the main story. I have two other chapters, one on Krisso other one chanbaek. so if someone has read it, thank you!


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